


Shared Melody

by arminjagers



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Human AU, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 15:32:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10440987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arminjagers/pseuds/arminjagers
Summary: Ruby has been humming a mysterious song with an unknown source her entire life.





	

"Hmm mm mm mm mm, hmm mm mm mm mm..." 

The tune had been engraved in Ruby's skull for as long as she could remember. Every now and then, she'd forget it for a while, but it would inevitably return at one point or another. She wasn't sure where it had come from; perhaps it was from a song she'd heard as a child, and the little melody stuck, but the source had eluded her. 

Throughout her childhood, she'd often get in trouble for humming in class. Not just the mystery tune, but themes songs of cartoons, songs she'd heard on the radio, whatever she happened to be interested in at the time. And while she cycled through different songs throughout the years, the mystery tune remained static. 

Over time, she eventually broke her habit of humming in public, sick of always being scolded or teased for it. But whenever she was alone, she'd hum and sing as freely as she wished; her favorite place to do this was at the beach just behind her house. She'd pace along the shore, dragging a stick through the sand, humming that comforting, familiar melody. 

One day, however, the melody continued when she stopped to take a breath; at first, Ruby thought it was her own voice echoing, but then she realized the voice sounded completely different from her own. It was softer, more feminine, and sounded like silk. 

Someone else was humming _her_ melody. Ruby wasn't sure whether she should be annoyed that someone stole her song, or amazed that someone else knew it. She frantically glanced around, trying to find the source of the voice, and began to chase it down. With each step, it grew louder, and Ruby's heart raced even faster. 

She soon crossed through a patch of trees, and came across a bed of rocks near the water. There laid a woman - no, not just any woman - a _mermaid_. She had dark brown skin, and wavy, pale blue hair that reached her hips, and bangs that covered her eyes. There was a huge, bloody gash on her otherwise shimmering blue fin. She immediately stopped singing as soon as she saw Ruby, cowering in fear. 

"Wait!" Ruby called out, stepping back so she wouldn't scare her off. "I-I don't want to hurt you..." 

The mermaid froze, but still failed to speak up. Ruby wanted to ask her how she knew the song she'd been humming... But the gash in her fin was more urgent. "Wh-what happened to your fin?" 

The mermaid glanced at her fin, and then back up at Ruby, sighing. "Fishing hook." she said. 

For a moment, Ruby didn't process the mermaid's words; her voice was beautiful, even when she was just speaking. She shook her head, remembering that this mermaid was in danger. "Oh, geez, that's... not good. Do you need me to take it out?" 

The mermaid nodded, and allowed Ruby to approach her. Ruby crouched down in front of her, cringing at the sight of the wound. "That looks really painful..." Ruby slowly reached down, grabbing the fishing hook and carefully easing it out. The mermaid let out a cry of pain, and Ruby immediately stopped. "I'm so sorry!" 

"N-no, don't be. It needs to come out. It'll hurt either way." the mermaid reassured. 

"A-alright..." Ruby said, slowly reaching in and pulling the hook all the way out, trying her best to ignore the mermaid's whimpers of pain. "There you go..." she said, sighing with relief once it was all done. 

"Thank you..." the mermaid said, turning to face Ruby. "You saved me." 

"Well, not yet. I should probably clean that gash up for you, wouldn't want it getting infected or anything..." Ruby said, smiling awkwardly. "But... all my first aid stuff's at my house. I don't have much stuff in my bag other than a few band-aids. Mind if I carry you...?" 

"Oh, you don't have to do that..." 

"I'd love to." Ruby said, shoving the hook into her backpack so nobody else could get hurt by it. "I-I mean, I can't just leave you out here to die... Besides, it's not every day a human comes across a mermaid, heh... So uh, what's your name?" 

"Sapphire." she responded shyly as Ruby scooped her up into her arms. 

"Wow, really? Mine's Ruby! We both have gem names!" 

"Oh, that's fascinating!" Sapphire said. "Most mermaids are named after gems, but I didn't know humans did that as well." 

"Yep! It's not as common, though." Ruby said, carrying Sapphire up the hill and beginning to head towards her house. "Luckily, my home is right by the ocean, so we don't have a long way to go." 

Once they reached Ruby's house, she brought Sapphire up the stairs and into her bathroom, and gently placed her down in the bath tub. She grabbed some peroxide from the cabinet, some towels, and a roll of bandages. 

"Sorry, this... might hurt a little." Ruby said as she crouched down in front of the bath tub. 

"It's alright. I'm lucky to be here, if I'm going to be honest... Most of the time, when a mermaid gets an infected cut, there isn't too much we can do about it." Sapphire said. 

"Oh geez... Well, keep in mind I'm not a doctor or anything, so I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing, but uh, I'm gonna try my best." Ruby said with an awkward smile. She gently pressed the soaked cloth against Sapphire's gash. She whined in pain, but bit her lip, clearly not wanting to worry Ruby too much. 

Ruby began to wrap Sapphire's tail in the bandages once she was finished cleaning the wound. "Hey, how long can you go without being in water?" she asked. 

"A few days at most." Sapphire said. 

"Alright, should I fill this tub up with water for you, then?" Ruby asked. 

"Yes, please do." 

Ruby plugged the drain and turned on the warm water, stepping back from the tub. As it filled up with water, Sapphire began to relax, and she leaned back against the sides of the tub. She brushed her bangs from her face and let out a sigh of content; Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin as she saw that Sapphire only had one eye. "D-do most mermaids only have one eye?" she asked, trying not to make her surprise too obvious. 

"No. It is a rare occurrence, and most have two, but some of us are born with one." She smiled at Ruby. "Do all humans have two eyes?" 

"Ah, well... Most of us do. Sometimes people only have one eye, but it's usually because they lost the other one in an accident or something." Ruby said, sitting down beside the tub. She turned off the faucet once Sapphire seemed to have enough water to move around in. "Uh, so... I'm not sure what my mom is going to think." 

"Where is your mother?" Sapphire asked. 

"Oh, she's working right now. She's a comedian. But I'm not allowed to go to her shows because they're for adults or something." Ruby scoffed. "I'm almost fifteen, it's not fair." 

Sapphire wasn't entirely sure what Ruby was talking about, but she just went with it. "I see... Is your mother a nice person?" 

"Yeah! She's the best. She's so funny, and understand me, and has a really nice voice..." Ruby said, resting her elbows on the side of the tub. "She likes to sing sometimes... Maybe you'll get to hear it." 

"Do you have a father, too?" Sapphire asked. 

"Oh, no. My mom adopted me and raised me on her own. But she doesn't really like men, heh." Ruby said. "Maybe I'll have another mom someday." 

Before Sapphire could ask anything else, they heard the sound of the front door swinging open. "Gooood evening, Ruby!!" a high pitched voice called from the distance. 

"Oh no, she's home already! And I still haven't thought of an explanation to keep her from coming into this bathroom!" Ruby said, covering her mouth. 

"Couldn't you just tell her I'm in the bath tub...?" Sapphire asked, confused as to why it had to be kept a secret. 

"You don't understand, humans don't really... react well to magical creatures living in their house." Ruby said, laughing nervously. "I don't know why! But hold on, I'm gonna try and distract her for as long as I can, alright?" She hurried out of the room, locking the door, and then went straight down the stairs. "Hi mom!" 

"Hello, Ruby." Sardonyx said, hanging her coat up in the closet. "How has your night been?" 

"F-fun! I did some walking on the beach, collected some shells and rocks, saw a cool fish..." Ruby said, sweating. Sardonyx noticed something was off, but she didn't question it just yet. "Hmm. Interesting. Can I see the shells you collected?" she asked. 

"Uhh..." Ruby glanced away, unable to make eye contact when she was lying. "I didn't bring them home with me, I forgot all of them on the beach, haha!" 

Sardonyx definitely knew something was up, now. "...Alright then." She began to head up the stairs, and Ruby started to panic. "W-wait, don't go into the bathroom!" she blurted out, following her and grabbing the back of her shirt. 

Sardonyx turned around and gave her a strange look. "...Why?" 

"I-I was cleaning! And I wanted it to be a surprise, but I wasn't finished cleaning yet, so you have to use the other bathroom. You can't see it yet!" Ruby said, her voice cracking. 

Sardonyx continued up the stairs, waving a hand dissmissively. Now she _needed_ to see what Ruby was hiding. "Don't worry, I'll use the bathroom with my eyes closed! I've lived here long enough to know where everything is." she joked. 

Out of excuses to keep her mother out of the bathroom, Ruby covered her eyes, awaiting her mother's reaction to the mermaid sitting in the bath tub. The door swung open no more than ten seconds later, Sardonyx's eyes wide. "Ruuuuuuby!" She grabbed her daughter by the shoulders, kneeling down in front of her. "For heaven's sake, Ruby! What did I tell you about washing the tub _before_ using it? Now our magical guest thinks we have a stained bath tub! Oh no - what if this is her first impression of a human?!" Sardonyx gasped, covering her mouth. 

"Wait, you're not mad that I brought a mermaid into the house...?" Ruby said, confused. 

Sardonyx sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. "No. What do you take me for, Ruby? What kind of person sees a _mermaid_ in her bath tub and feels anything but _excitement_?" she said, standing up and guiding Ruby into the bathroom. "Now _introduce_ me to your guest. Go on, be the polite lady I raised you to be." 

Ruby turned to Sapphire, who looked rather amused by what was going on. "Uh..." Ruby blushed, turning to her mother again. "This... is Sapphire. She's a... mermaid. And Sapphire, this is my mom." 

Sardonyx leaned over, extending a hand to Sapphire. "You may call me Sardonyx. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sapphire." 

Sapphire seemed rather confused by the gesture. "A pleasure to meet you too." she said. Ruby noticed her confusion and imitated a handshake with her own hands; Sapphire's expression brightened upon realizing what to do, and returned Sardonyx's handshake. 

"So, I'm sure you're a little scared right now." Sardonyx said, crouching down in front of the bath tub. "But I can assure you, you are completely safe in this home with me and Ruby. And you're lucky it was Ruby who found you; there are plenty of awful, heartless human beings who would take advantage of any mermaid they came across, unfortunately..." 

"I understand." Sapphire said, folding her hands in her lap. "I'm not too unfamiliar with that..." she added, gesturing to the bandages on her fin. 

"I found Sapphire by the beach with a fishing hook stuck in her fin." Ruby said. "I brought her here so I could clean her wound, and I was gonna let her stay until it was all healed so it wouldn't get infected in the water..." 

Sardonyx raised an eyebrow at Ruby, grinning. "And you planned to keep it a secret from me for _that_ long?" she said. 

Ruby blushed, shrugging her shoulders. "I didn't really _plan_ anything." 

"That's predictable of you." she said, laughing. "But I'm proud of you, Ruby! I knew I raised you well, going out of your way to help people - or mermaids - in need!" Sardonyx said, giving her daughter a tight hug. "Now, I'm going to get ready for bed in the _other_ bathroom. If you need anything, just call for me. And don't stay up too late, Ruby." she added. 

Once she was gone, Ruby let out a sigh of relief. "That went a lot better than expected..." 

"What did you expect? You mom seems like a nice human." Sapphire said, running her fingers through her hair. 

"Yeah, I guess. I was just worried she'd freak out or be scared or something..." Ruby said, sitting down on the floor. Noticing Sapphire attempting to comb her hair with her fingers, she asked, "Do you need a comb? That might be a little easier on your hair, heh." 

"A comb?" Sapphire asked. Ruby stood up and headed over to the cabinet, digging through and searching for her comb. "Ah, here it is!" she said, showing it to Sapphire. 

"Oh, a dinglehopper!" 

"What...?" 

"That's what we call them." Sapphire said, smiling. "But yes, that would probably work better." 

Ruby sat down on the floor again, and Sapphire turned around so Ruby could reach her hair. Ruby blushed a little, taking her silky, pale blue hair into her palms... It was still a bit wet from being in the water, and shimmered in the light of the bathroom. Ruby ran the comb through her hair, gently untangling some of the knots. As she normally did when she was focused on something, she began to hum. 

"That's my song..." Sapphire said. 

"Huh?" 

"My song. The one I was singing when you found me." 

Ruby mentally slapped herself. Of course! That was what had drawn her to Sapphire in the first place, but she'd completely forgotten about it. "Oh, yeah! I-I've always had that song in my head, for as long as I can remember... But I had no idea where it came from." 

"That's... interesting." Sapphire said. "Mermaids are born with a melody... We know the melody from the moment we're born, and it's as unique as a human's fingerprint. I was always told humans didn't have 'melodies'..." 

"We don't! Really, I've never heard of anyone else being born with a song in their head..." Ruby said. "I dunno if I was born with it, though..." she said. 

"Perhaps we've met before." Sapphire said, tapping her chin. 

"Eh, I don't think I've ever seen a mermaid in my life, heh." Ruby said. 

"Maybe it was long ago, and your memory of it is very clouded... Do you remember falling into the water at a young age, and being brought to shore?" Sapphire asked. 

Ruby gave her a strange look. That was an oddly specific situation... "Hmm... It's possible. My mom told me it happened when I was young, but I don't have any memory of it." 

"I remember saving a young human girl, back when I was younger, too... Ugh, my memory of it is so vague, but... I think she looked a bit like you." Sapphire continued. "And I remember watching her cough up water, and start crying... And I didn't know what to do, so I just sang to her, wanting to calm her down. It worked, until I heard the sound of humans coming. I assumed they were people she knew, so I jumped back into the water before any of them could see me." 

Ruby had begun to braid Sapphire's hair as she spoke, listening to the story she was telling. "That's... it sounds familiar! I-I don't remember that exact occurrence, honestly, and I'd be lying if I said I did, but... It would explain a lot, especially why that melody is so comforting to me! I need to tell my mom about this, maybe she'll remember the event a little better." 

"Perhaps she will..." Sapphire said. "Oh, what are you doing to my hair? It feels nice." 

"I'm braiding it. Have you ever braided your hair before?" Ruby asked. 

"I'm not sure what that is." Sapphire said. 

"Here, lemme show you." Ruby said, tying up the braid once she'd finished, and then showing it to Sapphire. "Like it?" 

"Oh, that's so pretty!" Sapphire said, smiling sweetly. "You should show me how to do this sometime." Ruby blushed a bit, unable to resist her smile as well. "Oh, okay! I'd love to, i-it's not too hard..." she said. 

"Here, I'll show you how to do it with my own hair." She took her headband off of her head, grabbing a section of her hair and dividing it into thirds. "You gotta divide it into three parts like this. And then, uh... It's kinda hard to put the instructions into words? So you just gotta watch." Sapphire nodded in understanding, watching as Ruby wrapped the strands of hair around each other. "See?" Ruby said. "There's other types of braids, too, but that's the most simple one." 

"I see." Sapphire said. "May I try it?" 

"Sure thing." Ruby said, leaning in a bit closer so Sapphire could reach her head. Sapphire leaned in as well, doing just as Ruby had demonstrated. She hummed softly to herself as she focused, and Ruby couldn't help but smile, eventually joining in and attempting to harmonize with Sapphire's gentle, silk-like voice.

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first multi-chapter fic ive done in a while! 
> 
> a few things to know:  
> -in this AU, humans are sort of aware mermaids exist, but not everyone _believes_ in them? sort of like how gems are acknowledged among humans in SU, but with mermaids, if that makes sense!  
>  -the 'melody' is this, in case it's not obvious lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHXyKFNTr3s


End file.
